Star Fox: A Relationship's Ailment
by XxSanitariumxX
Summary: Krystal is sick and Fox has made it his mission to tend to her. However deep down Krystal is thinking of leaving him more and more if closure and forgiveness is not achieved soon. Set one month after Command, one shot.


Fox walked down the hallway of his (somewhat) new ship the Great Fox II. Since the Anglars were defeated it seemed even emptier then before but do to the fact that at least someone other then Rob (who had no choice in the matter) had stayed after the war's end it was tolerable. Hopefully that was the final war he would have to fight in because that last one took an even greater toll on Fox than he could remember all the other ones taking. Even after a month of rest and relaxation his back still felt stiff and sore, he walked with a slight limp from a minor injury that would heal in another few days and he was just now getting over his post-traumatic stress disorder thanks to that one person who stayed.

In his hands he was carrying a bowl of his own homemade chicken noodle broth. The noodles were homemade, the chicken cooked up from raw and the soup itself he added only the finest herbs and spices he knew would make Krystal feel better. She was sick now, struck down with pneumonia but as long as Fox looked after her she'd be back on her feet in no time.

The door to her room opened and he hesitated before he walked in. He had never just intruded on Krystal's room before, even when she left and defected to Star Wolf he had made the room a quarantine zone. But now that she was back and needed his help he almost did it without thinking.

"Hey Krystal, are you feeling better?" Fox asked still standing in the doorway.

Krystal rolled her blue sick head and moaned "No." she coughed several times before adding "You can come in anytime you want Fox." Than she started coughing some more.

Fox couldn't help but smile despite her suffering. That was the third time she had given him full access to her room but he tended to forget. He walked inside and immediately the smell of the broth struck her almost congested nose. Despite her illness she tried to sit up but Fox stopped her.

"Whoa just where are you going Krissy? You need your strength. Just lay down and I'll take care of you." Fox chided like she was his own kit.

"I'm not your kit and I don't need your help to eat food Fox." Krystal snapped back playfully. Fox shrugged and let her try to get back up but she only got halfway before falling back again. "Damn it." she cursed. She had never been this sick in her life before, if only she hadn't gone to that orphanage over Christmas to deliver gifts she thought. But then the guilt hit her. The look on their faces just to see her and Fox was enough payment for the torment she was going through, especially the one stricken with the same disease she had now. "Just why aren't you sick?" she asked.

Fox shrugged again "I don't know, luck I guess. But to tell you the truth I remember the first time I had pneumonia, I was as ghastly as you…. Err not that you are ghastly just how your feeling and I err uh…."

Krystal chuckled a little "Still the same nervous wreck I met what seems like a lifetime ago. I know what you meant Fox so please continue."

Fox chuckled nervously as he felt himself go red 'Nervous wreck… that pretty much sums it up.' Fox thought. "Well anyways I was bedridden for an entire week but what really helped with the boredom and anguish was this." Fox said holding the broth a little closer to Krystal.

"It smells delicious Fox." Krystal said eyeing the contents. A little chunk of chicken was cradled by practically a thousand noodles. The broth was a nice healthy yellow and an occasional green spice bobbed to the surface just shouting the soon to come taste bud delight.

"Yeah my mother gave me a lot of this, worked nonstop to keep it coming. I got some more on the stove in case you want more." Fox said then took a large spoonful and blew on it.

"Oh hell no." Krystal said as he brought it to her mouth. She was always a strong and independent person so Fox feeding her was unacceptable. She could do it her self so she tried yet again to get up but failed miserably.

"Krystal I know you're rather an independent but please let me help you. If I let you eat this on your own you're just going to burn yourself, lose most of the broth and be even worse off…. trust me I know from experience." He said after she gave him a small pouting look that made him melt internally. Even when she was plagued with sickness she knew just how to press his buttons and perhaps even manipulate him.

Krystal thought it over. If she tried to eat it on her own that would happen because she sensed Fox was telling the truth but didn't probe deeper to find out the experience. Her initial desire was to reject Fox's offer and just try to eat the delicious broth herself but then something else crossed her mind. No one would know, Fox made it himself and had been looking after her night and day for the past three and who knows she might enjoy it.

"Alright." Krystal sighed than passed through another coughing spasm. When it passed Fox got a fresh spoonful and brought it to her succulent lips. At first Fox didn't think she was going to accept which made him frown on the inside but after she swallowed her pride she swallowed the broth.

"There you go." Fox said getting another spoonful. Krystal bit back a harsh snap and instead ate another bite. The process continued for about seven minutes and as long as Fox kept his mouth shut Krystal rather enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as she would have before their breakup but then emotional wounds of that caliber needed time to recover from. She often looked deep in his mind for any trace of Fox's apologetic nature being false in which case she would leave without a second glance back no matter how much he begged. Yet whenever she looked she only found the sincerest remorse, guilt and shame for casting her out like he did.

"Yikes that away fast." Fox said when she ate the last few pieces of chicken and broth. "You feel any better?"

"A little… actually a lot better." Krystal said. Ever since she started eating she hadn't once coughed, hacked or wheezed.

"This soup works wonders." Fox said putting the spoon in the bowl. "If you'd like I can go get you some more."

"Please." Krystal said.

Fox smiled "I'll be back in a bit." Taking the bowl with him Fox went to go get her second helping. He knew it was good but not Krystal good. She was the pickiest eater he had ever known. Her meat products had to be as raw as you could get, her vegetables fresh from the ground and her beverages also had to be fresh and no where near their expiration date.

'Maybe it's because of where she grew up. I wish I could have seen it the way she describes it I'd bet in a heartbeat it is much prettier than Suaria and Corneria combined. It has to be in order to make something as beautiful as her.' Fox thought while beginning to blush when he thought back to when he saw the prettiest vixen in all of Lylat suspended hundreds of feet above ground trapped in her crystallized prison. Had it not been for Peppy he would have gazed at her all day even if the planet they were on was close to eradication.

Krystal watched his mind as she left and blushed slightly because of his soft words or maybe it was the pneumonia? Either way what Fox thought pleased her, he considered her the prettiest vixen in all of Lylat which was enough for her to let him feed her. She began to think about Fox more and more over the past months ever since the Anglar war began. He was always there when she needed him now just like before she was cast out, he waited on her hand and knee at the slightest request and all he wanted was her forgiveness which she had yet to give to him. She had stayed with him yes but she had never actually said she forgave him quite yet.

'Maybe I should. He has been the sweetest vulpine since I agreed to stay and even before that. Not only that but deep down he is truly remorseful and it tears him up every night.' Krystal began to recall the first night they slept in the same bed together. He was so nervous you could have seen him shaking in the bathroom from the bed. It was Krystal's idea because it was a way of connecting because on her planet if a Cerinian slept close to another they often shared dreams if they were compatible or sometimes nightmares if not.

She wanted to see if that was the case with Fox but Fox had no idea, he just thought since they were so far in the relationship she wanted to do it. He would have more than loved to after woke up from the coma he would go under do to stress and shock but he would either way but only if, and never before Krystal felt one hundred and ten percent sure that whenever the moment was it was absolutely perfect and the right one. So many relationships were ruined when sex was involved and this was one that Fox wanted to see flourish and never wither.

"Are you sure about this? I mean this is a big step and, and, and, and." Fox started to repeat when he saw Krystal in the bare essentials to not be called naked. Her head rested in her arms as she lay on her stomach on the bed. Her legs moved up and down in a slightly erotic manner but then anything from a sneeze to a normal walk could have been erotic at this moment to him. She was so gorgeous sprawled neatly on his bed. His blue sheets only brought her out as the crown jewel in a see of blue on a king sized bed.

"What's the matter Fox?" Krystal giggled knowing full well what was wrong.

"I well, the… nothing I uh…." Fox began to babble as she got on her hands and knees to crawl slowly to him. Her tail flicked around left to right like it normally did when she was happy or being mischievous. Only Peppy spotted the mischievous part because he took up a private fancy to watching Fox crash and burn around her just like Fox's father with Vixy. Krystal's tail would flick around when she tried to flirt around with Fox and he always responded with stuttering, going red in the face and scratching the back of his head.

"Don't worry I'm sure this is the right move." Krystal said grabbing his arm when she reached him. She could feel his heartbeat through his night shirt and it was fast, unbelievably fast. Like the fast heartbeat she got when she first saw him holding out his hand to save her life from a certain doom. "Why don't we get rid of this?" Krystal asked pulling slightly at the shirt.

Fox's mind was a rush of frenzied panic. Krystal was nearly overloading his circuits but he remained conscious and in control however slightly. "Err if you want-"

"Oh but I do." Krystal said getting to her knees to help him take off the shirt. She always liked seeing his firm toned torso. It always made her feel safe and excited her in ways she kept private to herself unless she was talking with Katt. On her home planet such feelings were often looked down upon because bonds based on physical origins often led to disaster but not in this case. She loved to gaze at his taught muscles he worked hard to get and maintain. She often watched him work out in the gym and became breathless as the weights went up and down up and down over and over until she was certain she would have broken and faltered while he kept going.

The shirt came off and she put her hand on his rock hard abs. He was breathing faster now which only added to her excitement. She almost wanted to rip off the rest of his and her clothes but remembered that is not why she was having him do this. She wanted to share with him dreams and only that for now but it was a tough decision.

Krystal led him to the bed because he wouldn't have made it on his own and would have more than likely made an excuse to go run off. When they were both snug inside she enjoyed his slowly easing heartbeat and breathing. It was soothing and relaxing because she had not slept so close to another in years.

After a while she drifted to sleep in his arms after a little fore play with their tongues but kept it pg-thirteen so not to spoil what they would soon experience while they slept. Fox watched her sleep and almost got up to leave but Krystal foresaw that before she fell asleep and fell asleep on his arm disabling him from moving without her knowing.

'She really is magnificent. I have no idea what I have done to be worthy of someone like her.' He thought as he began to fall under the spell of sleep.

"Hey Krystal you feel any better?" Fox asked standing in the doorway of her room. Once again he forgot he was allowed in at any time. He was holding another bowl of the soup which filled the room with the same delicious smell again.

Krystal smiled "Did you forget again?"

"What? Err no I was just watching you… you seemed kind of peaceful and I thought you were asleep so I didn't want to disturb you but when I saw you open you eyes I knew you weren't and-" Fox said rather fast but was interrupted.

"Do you remember the first time we shared the same bed?" she asked.

"Every second and detail." Fox said remembering how much of a dolt he was then and he is now.

"What was your favorite part?" Krystal asked. Little did he know that he would be judged on his answer and if he made the wrong one it would only push Krystal farther away.

It took him awhile but he found the only true answer. "Being so close to you, knowing you're there, having the privilege to have a friend like you."

Krystal lost her fever awhile back but it seemed to come back now. She felt so good hearing him say that but not as good as she wished. There were still some abrasions in the relationship and it had to be scab over before it could heal. What he did to her was almost unforgivable but the more he did for her, the harder it was to stay mad. He really was sorry.

"Fox sit down I need to talk to you." She said feeling a slight cough come on.

"Sure thing Krystal." He said than sat by her. "So what do you want to talk about?"

Krystal began to wonder if she really should bring it up, her repressed anger and spite towards him. Fox thought she wasn't angry or spiteful since the war ended but it was still there only dormant. At last she decided that if their relationship could continue she had to talk to him now.

"Fox… why did you kick me out of Star Fox?"

Something sour made its home in Fox's mouth whenever he thought of it but she deserved the truth. "Well Krystal… there are three reasons. The first was I wanted to keep you safe but I should have realized you're a lot more capable and stronger than I thought back then. The second was I was an idiot. The third was because I didn't want to get hurt again which ties into number two and one."

Krystal's only answer was a blink so Fox continued. "I'm not sure if you know but I've lost a lot of people in my life. You have to, you've lost more than I can imagine which I guess makes you stronger than I…."

Still no response, just a blank stare and occasional blink.

"I lost my mother at a very young age, then my first girlfriend, then my father and during the war countless friends. I even almost lost Peppy in the Aparoid invasion. Then shortly after I almost lost you. Losing Peppy is one thing, it would have crippled me but if I ever lost you there would be nothing left. When I cast you out I thought I did the right thing and if you didn't fly with Star Fox anymore you would be in less risk. Now I know I was just an absolute idiot. You are a stronger person than I could ever hope to become."

Krystal took it all in with her passive stare. She weighed his excuses and reasons, made sure he was telling the truth with her telepathy and came to one ultimate conclusion.

"Fox I never said I forgave you and…" she almost stopped but after a long hesitation she bit back all emotion "I don't. I never will."

You could see the heartbreak rush through Fox in his eyes, whole body and his voice which made a barely audible moan. "You… you?" Fox managed after an eternity of suffering.

"I can't forgive you. You will only hurt me again. One way or another you will get worried and the worry will consume you causing you to fore me away. I don't want to go through what I did again and I don't want you to either…. I think it would be best if you left."

Each word struck Fox with a force beyond a Red-Eye's. His whole world crashed in around him just like when he lost her the first time. He wanted to prove to her he was sorry and would beg for her forgiveness but she wouldn't give it… ever.

"Krystal?" he breathed.

"I'm sorry Fox but I can't see anyway for you to convince me other wise." Krystal said rolling over to hide the tears.

"Krystal please I am nothing without you!" he got no response so he continued. "Krystal I will do anything, _anything_ to make it up to you! Please isn't there some way? Tell me what it is and I'll do it!"

"Fox there's-" there was one thing but it was a slim chance. Even mentioning it would be a waste of time. The first time they attempted it they didn't connect whether it was because Fox wasn't Cerinian or he wasn't the one for her.

"Please Krystal anything no matter how slight of a chance." Fox said standing up forgetting about the soup in his lap. It scalded him even through his shirt and pants. He yelped in pain and took off the shirt. Krystal watched him with a hungry look. She hadn't seen his lean body in too long.

'Maybe it is worth a shot?' Krystal thought.

"Okay Fox… there is one thing."

Fox forgot about the burns, his eyes lit up, ears perked and tail flicked around "There is? What?" he asked excitedly.

"You have to share a dream with me." Krystal said which didn't make her feel any better. Fox however felt all the joy in the world.

"If that is what I must do!"

"But Fox remember last time? We didn't connect! What makes you so sure it will succeed this time?"

"It has to, because I won't wake up if it doesn't. I'll sleep and sleep until I share a dream with you." Fox said firmly.

Krystal had her doubts but he seemed so sure of himself and the plan so she ultimately moved over allowing him to share the bed with her. Fox climbed in eagerly not caring if he was nearly in the nude, Krystal was sick or that sharing dreams had already failed once. When he got in he paid no attention to the back of his mind and wrapped his arms around Krystal. He wanted to for the longest time, he missed her soft blue fur, sweet smell, and light breathing. Krystal was taken back by his out forwardness. Typically it was she who was so out forward and he who went red and warm. She enjoyed it all the same however.

For a while Krystal wondered if she would ever fall asleep but her eyes eventually became heavy as did Fox's.

The next morning Krystal woke up, the alarm was going off because for the third day in a row she forgot to set it to off. The night passed just like any other, fast, more of a blink than a sleep really. Krystal began to feel some lips pressed against her neck peck at her lovingly and moved up to her face.

"Fox? What are you doing? We didn't share a dream and-"

"Look around you." Fox said feeling her silky body with his left hand.

Krystal did and didn't stop him because she hadn't felt this good since before she was sick and their separation. The room was entirely different. Photos of people, kids and adults they didn't even know were all over the room, the bed sheets weren't Krystal's beige sheets, they were a deep blue like her fur but her fur stood out more just like on Fox's bed. Outside it was bright but didn't hurt the eyes and a breeze betrayed the outside sea.

"Oh my god." Krystal breathed.

"Does this mean you'll forgive me?" Fox asked still kissing her sweetly.

Fox's hand reached her stomach and stayed there, it was warm unlike her. She was near frozen do to the shock but then the situation washed over her again. It was all so beautiful, from the strange bed, to the slightly flapping curtains to the children and adults that looked suspiciously like Krystal and Fox but a mix. Almost like children.

"I… I forgive you Fox!" Krystal said rolling over and on top of Fox. She pinned him down and kissed him harder and more passionately then she could ever remember.

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~Hey guys took me about three days but here's my second one shot. I hope you enjoy(ed) Happy Thanksgivin! You're is probobly better than mine, I'm SICK (no it's not the swine flu). These little ideas hit me often so if I think they're good I try to make them into a story so if you like what you read check out my other works._**


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